


Orange Lily, Geranium, and Buttercup

by rebelmeg



Series: Rebelmeg's Pepperony Bingo 2020 [15]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/M, Fluff, Language of Flowers, Meet-Cute, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:22:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28447614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg
Summary: Tony runs a flower shop.  Pepper is having a bad day and running an errand.  Hot chocolate and a not insignificant amount of charm makes for a pretty cute first meeting.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Rebelmeg's Pepperony Bingo 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664317
Comments: 19
Kudos: 54
Collections: Pepperony Bingo 2020





	Orange Lily, Geranium, and Buttercup

**Author's Note:**

> *Scrambles about trying to finish my last few bingo squares*
> 
> And this one is for my Pepperony Bingo square O2 - Flowershop AU
> 
> Title: Orange Lily, Geranium, and Buttercup  
> Collaborator: rebelmeg  
> Square Filled: O2 - Flowershop AU  
> Ship: Pepperony  
> Rating: Gen  
> Major Tags: flowershop AU, meet cute, Tony is a sweetheart  
> Summary: Tony runs a flower shop. Pepper is having a bad day and running an errand. Hot chocolate and a not insignificant amount of charm makes for a pretty cute first meeting.  
> Word Count: 1341

January was a slow month for florists, and Tony Stark had pretty much completed his work for the day. He had already put up a new display in the window, and his orders for the day were finished unless he had more come in. The website was up to date, and there weren’t any classes or demos until next week, and those were already planned anyway. So he sat on the high stool by the cash register, elbows on the counter as he propped his head in his hands and stared at the snow falling out the window. He had inherited this small shop from his godfather, and with Edwin Jarvis’ careful tutelage in mind, Tony was idly constructing interesting bouquets and arrangements in his head.

He didn’t see the woman approaching the shop, and startled slightly when the door opened, the bell over the door ringing. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled up in some kind of fancy updo and she was all dressed up, but she looked distinctly frazzled, and her coat was covered in snow. Tony opened his mouth to greet her, but she had looked around the shop, taken a deep breath, and just burst into tears.

Tony was utterly confused, blinking fast as he slid off his stool and came around the counter. He hadn’t ever had a crying person in his shop before, this was new territory for him. He assumed that most people cried before they came, which was why flowers were necessary.

Approaching the woman cautiously, he reached out and touched her arm. “Hey, are you okay?” 

She jumped a little, obviously so lost in her own emotions that she hadn’t heard him come over. She was trying to talk around her tears, wiping them away from her lightly freckled cheeks as they fell, but they didn’t stop. “Yeah, s-sorry. I’m fine.”

“You sure? I know my shop is small, but I promise, it’s not that bad.” He smiled gently, hoping for a hint of a smile. She just exhaled shakily, still trying to get ahold of herself, but it wasn’t working. She was clearly in the midst of a bit of a breakdown, and Tony fell back on another set of skills that Jarvis had taught him: manners and compassion.

“You maybe wanna come in the back and sit down for a minute? I was just thinking that it’s a perfect day for hot chocolate, and you look like you could maybe use it, you’ve gotta be freezing.”

She hesitated, looking at him with teary blue eyes, but Tony just smiled at her, motioning to the back. 

“I’ve got tissues, too. And maybe even a real hanky if you don’t mind something that’s been in my coat pocket possibly since last year.”

With a shuddery sigh and a hint of a smile, she nodded. “Okay.”

* * *

The woman introduced herself as Pepper Potts, and by the time Tony handed her a mug of hot chocolate (with little marshmallows and a shot of Bailey’s that had made her smile and nod), she had calmed down enough to explain.

“My sister is getting married today. That’s why I’m wearing this,” Pepper plucked at the hem of the silvery blue dress she was wearing. “And she’s been a horrific bridezilla, which is bad enough, but…” She paused for a second, her lip trembling slightly, “she’s also marrying my ex-boyfriend from college, the one that left me for her.”

Tony’s eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. “Seriously? That _bitch!_ ” 

Pepper choked on a mouthful of hot chocolate, but when Tony rushed to apologize and fling napkins at her, she was smiling. 

Feeling relieved, Tony asked as she mopped up the spill, “Why are you involved in the wedding if there’s that kind of history?!”

Pepper rolled her eyes at herself. “Because I was stupid enough to think that it would be fine when she asked/told me. She’s my sister, I couldn’t say no. And I don’t love him anymore, it’s not that, but I didn’t want to admit to myself that I’m still hurt by it all.”

“I’d still be hurt by it all! Hell, I’m hurt on your behalf!” Tony snorted into his hot chocolate and took a sip as he muttered, “But then, I’m a grudge-holder, so maybe that’s not a good thing.”

She smiled at him as she also took a sip. “Anyway, apparently a few of the bouquets for the centerpieces for the reception tonight were messed up, so she sent me to come get new bouquets. And I was doing fine, I was a little mad, but fine. But then it started snowing and I hate driving in the snow, and my feet got cold and wet, and there wasn’t a single good song on the radio and I’m getting a headache from this hairdo, and… it all just kind of snowballed on me. Then I came in, and couldn’t stop thinking that it’s been so long since someone got me flowers, and I just kinda… fell apart.”

Tony nodded sympathetically and scooted the bottle of liqueur closer to her. “Well, I can certainly help with the bouquet thing. You just finish your boozy hot chocolate and we’ll get right on that. And if you want, I can even help you construct the perfect bouquet that literally says _screw you_ in flower. We can make it into a corsage, and you can wear it all night!”

Pepper giggled, clearly unable to help herself, and Tony counted that as a definite win. He was always charming (that wasn’t his ego talking, he had several people to back him up on that, thank you), but he turned it on even more as he led Pepper around his flower shop. Going by the pictures she had and the description of what the bridezilla wanted, he put together several new centerpieces, and grinned at Pepper slyly when he charged an exorbitant wedding rate for them, charged to her sister’s card. 

And then he got to have some fun, his nearly eidetic memory serving him well as he recalled the different meanings flowers could have. He picked out orange lilies for contempt, buttercups for ingratitude, and bright pinkish-purple geraniums for stupidity. Pepper laughed as he explained it all, and watched as he put the flowers together into a bright, elegant corsage. 

“I know it’s not the same as getting a bouquet of flowers for a date,” Tony said a little boldly as he slipped the lace elastic onto her wrist, “but I hope they make you smile anyway.”

Pepper took out her own card to pay for the corsage, but Tony just shook his head and grabbed one of his business cards. He wrote his cell number on the back with a crooked winky face, then handed it to her. “On the house, I insist. And if you’re ever interested, I would be highly interested in taking you out on a date, Miss Potts. I can very easily promise you a bouquet of flowers to go with it.”

She looked at the card with a blush on her cheeks, and Tony let himself have a moment to feel very self-satisfied indeed when she tucked it into her purse.

“I will keep that in mind, Mr. Stark.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek (and no, the simple gesture _didn’t_ make him blush, of course not, it was just a little too warm in the shop). “Thanks for making my whole day better.”

“It was my pleasure, I assure you.”

* * *

Pepper sent him a selfie a couple hours later, her chin in her hand, her corsage showing, and one of Tony's centerpiece bouquets next to her. She was smiling and winking and if Tony's heart maybe fluttered a little inside his chest, well... that was a secret he'd keep to himself. He was already mentally putting together the bouquet he'd give her when he took her out on a date the next weekend. Full of secret messages of hope and beauty, and fondness, and maybe, someday, love.


End file.
